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Hinduism & Quantum Physics
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BELL'S THEOREM - VEDANTA AND QUANTUM PHYSICS
TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION LOWERS CHOLESTEROL
HURRY SICKNESS
Vedanta as the synthesis of Science and Religion
Modern Physics and Philosophical Reason
The basic oneness of the universe is not only the central
characteristic of the mystical experience, but is also one
of the most important revelations of modern physics.
______________________________________________
"THE MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERY IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE"-Prof.Henry
Stapp, Quantum physicist.
BELL'S THEOREM - VEDANTA AND QUANTUM PHYSICS
HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE PHYSICAL WORLD
'Om Isha vasyam idam sarvam, yat kincha jagatyam jagat'
"All this- whatever exists in this changing
universe, is pervaded by God"
-Isa Upanishad
"Om purnamadah purnamidam purnaat purnamudachyate,
purnasya purnamadaya purnamevaavashishyate"
"That (pure consciousness) is full(perfect); this(the manifest
universe of matter; of names and forms being maya) is full. This
fullness has been projected from that fullness. When this fullness
merges in that fullness, all that remains is fullness."
-Peace invocation- Isa Upanishad
"The Supreme Brahman(God) is the only Reality. The idea of the
phenomenal universe is falsely superimposed upon it."
Swami Nikhilananda of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Centre, New York.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS THEOREM ARE STAGGERING
In recent years physicists have had to address the interplay of
consciousness and the physical world. In Quantum Physics much has
been made over Bell's Theorem. The implications of this theorem and
the experimental findings that flow from it are staggering. They
force us to consider that the entire notion of a purely objective
world is in conflict not only with the theory of quantum mechanics,
but with the facts drawn from actual experiments. These findings
point insistently to a profound interaction between conscious mental
activity and the physical world itself.
THE RISHI'S VISION
The Rishi's vision of a world in which man participates in a seamless
existence, indivisibly united with the universe around him, resonates
through a discovery called "BELL'S THEOREM". This discovery, first
proposed in 1964 by the physicist John S. Bell was first confirmed by
experiment in 1972 by Professor John Clauser at Berkley. It is an
almost unbelievable result - unbelievable because the logical mind
has great difficulty in comprehending how it can be true. Its impact
on the physics community has been enormous. Professor Henry Stapp, a
physicist at Berkley and an authority on the implications of Bell's
Theorem, has called it THE MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERY IN THE HISTORY OF
SCIENCE.
A description of the proof of Bell's theory, as given by Stapp reads:
"If the statistical predictions of quantum theory are true, an
objective universe is incompatible with the law of local causes."
Although formidable at first glance, Bell's Theorem seems simpler
once key terms are understood.
First, an "objective universe" is simply one that exists apart from
our consciousness.
Secondly, the "law of local causes" refers to the fact that events in
the universe happen at a speed that does not exceed the speed of
light. Things happen, in other words, always at the speed of light or
less.This limitation is imposed by Einstein's special theory of
relativity, and is a mainstay of modern physical theory. To be
accurate, in actual experimental situations, it is not Bell's Theorem
that is tested, but the predictions of Quantum Mechanics.
In 1935, Albert Einstein, together with Nathan Rosen and Boris
Podolsky proposed through flawless mathematical reasoning that if the
quantum theory were correct, then 'A change in the spin of one
particle in a two particle system would affect its twin
simultaneously, even if the two had been widely separated in the
meantime'. And 'simultaneous' is a dirty word in the theory of
special relativity, which forbids the transmission of any signal
faster than the speed of light. Obviously, a signal telling the
particle 'what to do' would have to travel faster than the speed of
light if instantaneous changes were to occur between the two particles.
The dilemma into which Einstein, Rosen and Podolsky dragged the
quantum theory was a profound one, coming to be known as THE ERP EFFECT.
In 1964 Bell's Theorem emerged as a proof that Einstein's impossible
proposition did in fact hold true: instantaneous changes in widely
separated systems did occur.
In 1972, Clauser confirmed the statistical predictions of quantum
mechanics, working with an elaborate system involving photons,
calcite crystals, and photo multiplier tubes The experiment has since
been run several times with the same consistent results; Bell's
Theorem stands solid.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF BELL'S THEOREM ARE
PRACTICALLY UNTHINKABLE
Even for the physicists involved, the implications of Bell's Theorem
are practically unthinkable. Mathematics and experimentation have
taken us where our logical mind cannot go. Imagine, two particles
once in contact, separated even to the ends of the universe, change
instantaneously when a change in one of them occurs!
Slowly, new ideas are emerging to explain these unthinkable
occurrences. One view is that, in some unexplainable way, the
separated particles are still in contact although separated in space.
This is the suggestion of the French physicist Bernard D'Espagnat. In
1979, writing about quantum reality, he said that "the entire notion
of an external, fixed, objective world now lies in conflict not only
with quantum theory, but in facts drawn from actual experiments....
in some sense all these objects constitute an indivisible whole."
Physicist Jack Sarfatti of the Physics/Consciousness Research Group
proposes that no actual energy-requiring signal is transmitted
between the distant objects, but 'information' is transmitted
instead. Thus no violation of Einstein's special theory of relativity
occurs. Exactly what this information is is unclear, and it a strange
thing which might travel instantly and require no energy to do so.
Nic Herbert, a physicist who heads the C-Life Institute, suggests
that we have merely discovered an elemental oneness of the world.
This oneness cannot be diminished by spatial separation. An invisible
wholeness unites the objects that are given birth in the universe,
and it is this wholeness that we have stumbled into through modern
experimental methods. Herbert alludes to the words of the poet
Charles Williams: "Separation without separateness, reality without
rift."
It would be a mistake to suppose that these effects operate only with
relevance to the invisible world of the atom. Professor Henry Stapp
states that the real importance of these findings is that they
translate directly to our microcosmic existence, implying that the
oneness that is implicit in Bell's Theorem envelopes human beings and
atoms alike.
The interrelation of human consciousness and the observed world is
obvious in Bell's Theorem. Human consciousness and the physical world
cannot be regarded as distinct, separate entities. What we call
physical reality, the external world, is shaped - to some extent - by
human thought. The lesson is clear; we cannot separate our own
existence from that of the world outside. We are intimately
associated not only with the earth we inhabit, but with the farthest
reaches of the cosmos.
Certain quantum physicists now say that each part of the universe
contains all the information present in the entire cosmos itself
(similar to a giant oak tree producing an acorn that contains all the
information to replicate itself).
This assertion is so audacious that it would be dismissed out of hand
were it not for the scientific stature of its chief proponent David
Bohm, a former associate of Einstein, professor of theoretical
physics at Birbeck College of University of London. He is regarded as
one of the pre-eminent theoretical physicists of our day.
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THE HOLOGRAM
Bohm maintains that the information of the entire universe is
contained in each of its parts. There is, he says, a stunning example
of this principle in photography: the hologram (literally whole
message).
Hologram is a specially constructed image which, when illuminated by
a laser beam, seems eerily suspended in three dimensional space. The
most incredible feature of holograms is that any piece of it, if
illuminated with coherent light, provides an image of the entire
hologram. The information of the whole is contained in each part. The
entire representation of the original object is contained in each
portion of the hologram. This principle, says Bohm, extends to the
universe at large, that the universe is constructed on the same
principles as the hologram. His theory rests on concepts that flow
from modern physics. The world is an indivisible whole.
For Bohm, order and unity are spread throughout the universe in a way
which escapes our senses. In the same way that order and organisation
are spread throughout the hologram. Each part of the universe
contains enough information to reconstitute the whole. The form and
structure of the entire universe is enfolded within each part.
For many working physicists, these concepts are inescapable
conclusions that flow from quantum mechanics and relativity. It is
crucial to appreciate the scope of these implications. We frequently
assume that quantum physics applies only to the diminutive realm of
nature - electrons, protons etc., and that relativity has only to do
with massive objects of cosmic proportions -stars, galaxies, nebulae
etc. But Bohm's contention is that we are squarely in the middle of
these phenomena. Ultimately the entire universe (with all its
'particles' including those constituting human beings, their
laboratories, observing instruments etc). has to be understood as a
single undivided whole, in which analysis into separately and
independently existent parts has no fundamental status.
What are the implications of a holographic universe? As part of the
universe, do we have holographic features ourselves that allow us to
comprehend a holographic universe? This question has been answered
affirmatively by Stanford neurophysiologist Karl Pribram. In an
attempt to account for key observations about brain function which
for decades have puzzled brain physiologists, Pribram arrived at a
radical proposal: the hologram is a model brain function. In essence,
the brain is the 'photographic plate' on which information in the
universe is encoded.
When the proposals of Bohm and Pribram are conceptually joined, a new
model of man emerges: we use a brain that encodes information
holographically; and it is a hologram that is a part of an even
larger hologram - the universe itself.
Pribram's radical suggestions are founded on work that originated in
the laboratory of one of the pioneers of modern neurophysiology, Karl
Lashley. At a time when it was popularly believed that there were
specific centres in the brain for practically every human function -
such as speech, vision, appetite, sleep etc.,- Lashley demonstrated
that this was apparently not true for memory. Working with animals,
he found that even when bulk of the cerebral cortex was surgically
removed, leaving only a remnant intact, the memory of how to perform
specific tasks remained. The rapidity and accuracy of the performance
was frequently attenuated, but the knowledge was retained.
These findings fit poorly with existing theories about how
information is stored in the brain. It was as if memory was spread
everywhere in the cortex - but how? Pribram reasoned that the brain
contained the memory in each of its parts. The analogy to a hologram
was obvious. The entire memory pattern could be found throughout the
cerebral cortex if the information had originally been encoded
holographically.
In most right handed persons, the left side of the brain is presumed
to control the movements of the right side of the body. In instances
where the left side of the brain is injured - for example through a
stroke or with a trauma -paralysis or profound weakness of the right
side of the body is the predictable result. A physician, Richard
Restak, has reported a case, in a twenty one year old female in which
the entire left side of the brain was removed surgically in order to
control epileptic seizures that were unmanageable with any other
known form of therapy. The results of the therapy were astonishing.
Although the seizures were stopped, within a few weeks the woman
began to regain control of the right side of her body. She was able
to return to work and to lead an active social life. Where did the
right side of her body receive its motor information with the left
side of the brain in the surgeon's pail?
In 1975 a similar case was reported by Smith & Sugar. A six year old
male underwent total removal of the left cerebral hemisphere because
of intractable epileptic seizures. Conventional neurophysiological
wisdom asserts that the left side of the cerebral cortex is
responsible for our speech, mathematical reasoning and logical
thought in general, and that the right cerebral hemisphere controls
our intuitive, non-rational, non-verbal forms of thought. Yet this
young man grew up to become a gifted student, proficient in verbal
reasoning and language abilities, testing even into the gifted range
of on standard intelligence tests.
SPACE AND TIME - THE HOLOVERSE
This indivisibility also applied fundamentally to space and time.
Relativity has shown that they are inextricably linked, and cannot be
teased apart.
Recall one of the possibilities embodied in Bell's theorem involving
non-local features of the universe: objects once in contact, though
separated spatially, even if placed at distant ends of the universe,
are somehow in inseparable contact. Since any change in one
immediately and unmitigatedly causes change in the other, this is a
nonlocal occurance, meaning that any information passing between the
two objects would have to travel faster than the speed of light to
cause such instantaneous change. Since it is impossible for the speed
of light to be exceeded, according to the special theory of
relativity, this event is said to be noncausal-i.e. not caused by the
transfer of any conceivable kind of energy passing between the
distant objects.
Although these nonlocal and noncausal descriptions are worked out for
objects separated in space, Bohm states that the implications of
quantum theory also apply to moments in 'TIME'.
What is crucial is that, according to the theory of relativity, a
sharp distinction between space and time cannot be maintained.
We all have roots in the universe. Conscious mental activity exerts
measurable effects on the physical world - a world that includes
human bodies, organs, tissues, and cells. Mind becomes a legitimate
factor in the unfolding of health and disease. The inter-penetration
of all matter is the rule. The dividing line between life and non-
life is illusory and arbitrary. There is only one valid way, thus, to
partake of the universe and that way is characterised by reverence -
a reverence born of a felt sense of participation in the universe, of
a kinship with all others and with all matter. A reverential attitude
that bespeaks a oneness with the universe can transform the commonest
act.
Bhagavad Gita, Ch.13,Verses 15 :
"Without and within all beings the unmoving and also the moving;
because of Its subtlety, unknowable; and near and far away is That
(God)".
Bhagavad Gita, Ch.13, Verse 16:
"And undivided, yet He exists as if divided in beings; He is to be
known as the supporter of beings; He devours and He generates."
No division in Consciousness is admissible at any time as it is
always one and the same. Even the individuality of the Jiva must be
known as false, like the delusion of a snake in a rope.
Shankaracharya (Aparokshanubhuti.43)
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TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION LOWERS CHOLESTEROL
By Larry Dossey , M.D.
"In 1980, subjects with elevated blood cholesterol levels were taught
the technique of transcendental meditation. Serial determinations of
the blood cholesterol level were made. It was found that in subjects
who practiced this technique the cholesterol level fell on the
average of 20 percent. While this fall may seem modest, it should be
noted that there are no drugs that are consistently more effective,
safe, and inexpensive as this method of voluntary relaxation and
mental quieting. Moreover, blood pressure, heart and respiratory
rate, as well as the blood levels of insulin, hydrocortisone,
adrenaline, and norepinephrine are modified to more desirable levels."
- Cooper and Aygen "The effect of Meditation."
The significance of these observations is inestimable: by taking
thought in ways which 'elongate' the time sense, time-sick
individuals can alter many of the devastating effects of the time
syndrome.
HURRY SICKNESS
Our sense of time affects our health by influencing the development
and course of specific diseases. This is nowhere more obvious than in
persons who have been called Type A individuals by Friedman and
Rosenman. Type A persons have "hurry sickness." Their lives are
oriented around goals, deadlines, and objectives, which they seem to
react to in a driven fashion. They are unable to approach a task in a
healthy, balanced way, but in extreme cases seem almost consumed by a
need to accomplish and achieve.
Not only do they have an inward sense of urgency, their outward
behaviour suggests the same quality. When sitting they may be in
constant motion, not only with thoughts, but with body parts- hands,
fingers, legs, feet. They are usually vocal, verbally expressing the
products of a mind that cannot rest. This behaviour frequently
generates discomfort and tension in those around them.
It is as if Type A persons are "time sick." Type A persons are
usually ambitious and frequently are highly successsful, having
succeeded in harnessing their high motivation and sense of
purpose.Yet for all the qualities for which they are admired- their
vision, energy, and dedication- they possess, as a group, a
characteristic that nobody envies: they have a high mortality rate
from heart disease.Type A individuals as a group, die earlier. Their
behaviour puts them at risk for the most frequent cause of death in
our society, coronary artery disease.
The importance of the exaggerated response to time , the sense of
urgency displayed by Type A individuals, is that it is translated
into physiologic effects. These effects are pervasive and are seen
long before heart disease supervenes. These physiological events are
so characteristic of time-sick persons, they could be called the time
syndrome. Among them are increased heart rate and blood pressure at
rest; elevation of certain blood hormones such as adrenaline,
norepinephrine, insulin, growth hormone, and hydrocortisone, all of
which are ordinarily secreted in an exaggerated way during times of
urgency or stress; increased gastric acid secretion; increased blood
cholesterol; an increased respiratory rate; increased secretory
activity of sweat glands; an increased muscle tension throughout the
body. The time syndrome is a body-mind process with effects on all
major systems.
As we learn to meditate, or when we become familiar with the states
of consciousness through techniques employing deep relaxation, we
develop a familiarity with a new sense of time. We begin to
experience time in new ways. We begin to feel at home with time as it
expands. Phrases such as "the ever-present now" and "the eternal
moment" become full with meaning. Above all, we develop a
friendliness with time.
The health-sustaining role of social support systems
We affect the health of those about us. Human events such as caring,
loving,touching and confiding exert profound consequences on health.
In Alameda County, California, 4700 men and women were followed over
a nine year period, and mortality rates from all causes were
examined. Mortality rates in men were significantly higher among the
unmarried. Those men who chose fewer social contacts with friends and
relatives, and those who were not church members,demonstrated a
higher death rate.
A striking result was found in an experiment at Ohio State
University. A group of investigators were studying the effects of a
diet high in fat and cholesterol in rabbits. At the end of a certain
period the rabbits were sacrificed, and certain arteries in their
bodies were examined for evidence of atherosclerosis. This process of
cholesterol deposition forms obstructions and ulcerations in
arteries, and in humans results in vascular disease of various types,
such as heart attacks and stroke.
The results of the study should have been rather predictable. But
when a certain group of the test rabbits demonstrated atherosclerotic
changes which were 60 percent less than that of the overall group,
the investigators were astonished! The rabbits who were affected less
severely were those who were fed and cared for by one of the
investigators who, during the course of the experiment, regularly
took them from their cages and petted, stroked, and talked to them.
In order to test this 'coincidence', systematic controlled studies
were designed in which two groups of rabbits were again fed the same
diet and were treated identically except that one group was removed
from their cages several times a day for petting, and were talked to
each time by the same person. The results? The petted and talked to
group once again demonstrated a 60 percent lower incidence of
atherosclerosis.
Not content with the possibility of two coincidences, the Ohio State
investigators repeated the study. The results were the same.
Touching, petting, handling, and gentle talking emerged as a crucial
determinant in the disease process.
A task force in Massachusetts reported to the Secretary of H.E.W.
their findings on the likelihood of survival from atherosclerotic
heart disease. They found the most reliable factor in determining
survival was not smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, or
high blood cholesterol levels, but job satisfaction. And the second
overall predictor was what the task force termed "overall happiness."
Angina pectoris is the term applied to the pain experienced by
patients with atherosclerotic heart disease. Medalie and Goldbourt
followed 10,000 Israeli males aged forty years and older to determine
the impact of risk factors on the frequency of angina.Most of the
commonly known risk factors were correlated with angina, but so too
were anxiety and severe psychosocial problems. Most surprising of all
was the finding that, among men with severe anxiety, those who
perceived their wives to be loving and supportive had half the rate
of angina of those who felt unloved and unsupported.
Brown and his colleagues have conducted a series of studies in the
United Kingdom, investigating the incidence and prevalence of
psychiatric disorders. In a variety of settings (urban and rural) and
among different social classes (working and middle class).
The most potent protective factor against psychiatric illness was the
presence or absence of an intimate and confiding relationship with a
husband or boyfriend; that is, one in which feelings could be shared,
whether or not sexual intimacy occurred.
One of the most stressful events in life is the death of a husband or
wife. Holmes and Rahe, in assessing the relative stress imposed by
various events rated the death of a spouse as the single most
stressful occurrence in life.
Krause and Lilienfeld found that age-specific mortality ratios for
widowed men and women were two to fourfold higher than for those who
were married.
Schleifer found that bereavement, a profoundly stressful event,
produce changes in the body's immune system, compromising the defense
against infection and cancer.
How do such human experiences as job satisfaction, happiness, and
meditation get into the cells? There is a physiology of loving and
caring, ranging from embarrassing facial blush to palpitations,
sweating and stammering. Feelings of love generate physical events.It
may seem a distant transition from being in love in one's teens to
being a confidant or a supportive spouse later in life, but
physiologic changes are involved on both ends of the spectrum. These
changes are not trivial. They can make the difference between life
and death.
Social support systems are important for survival
Loving, caring and confiding are crucial matters; matters of life and
death.
"A solitary individual wholly independent of others is largely a
fiction. In reality, most or even all living beings exist in more or
less integrated communities, and the ability to maintain these
associations entails some co-operations, or at least, 'proto-co-
operation."- T.Dobzhansky, New York.
Our urge toward associating with those of our own kind is rooted in
our earliest beginnings.
"Dependency and interdependency are the indispensable conditions of
life." - A.Montague, "On Being Human."
Separated from their companions, individual amoebae begin immediately
to find their way back to the group.
Wilhelm Roux shook apart the cells in a frog's eggs early in the
course of its development and separated the cells at some distance in
water. The cells slowly began to approach each other, eventually
making contact. There are endless examples in the plant and animal
world that social systems are important in the reproductive cycles
and survival of living organisms.
If our health is coupled with the perpetuation of our genes, it is
also tied to our association with members of our species. As
G.G.Simpson has said in 'Life of the Past':
"No animal or plant lives alone or is self-sustaining. All live in
communities including other members of their own species and also a
number, usually a large variety, of other sorts of animals and
plants. The quest to be alone is indeed a futile one, never
successfully followed in the history of life."
The psychological effects of urgency - stress, anxiety, tension- do
not stay in the psyche. They are translated into the body where they
eventuate in physical ailments. The sense of urgency generates
infirmity, disease and death.
In contrast, the psychological sense that accompanies the perception
of time as static and nonflowing is one of tranquility, serenity and
peace. It is the sense of oneness of unity, the feeling of calm and
release. Mind and body are intrinsically united, and consciousness is
the fulcrum of health.
___________________________________
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Vedanta as the synthesis
of Science and Religion
By Swami Ranganathananda, Ramakrishna Math:
Extracts (abridged)
The spirit of enquiry finds expression in any department of
scientific study in the gathering of relevant facts and their
rational interpretation. The practice of religion is nothing but a
ceaseless quest after the facts of the inner life. A dispassionate
study of these facts constitutes the science of religion which seeks
to unravel the mystery of our inner being- the lights that guide us
and the laws that mould us.
If 'man, the known', constituted of his body and its environing
world, is the subject of study of the natural sciences, 'man. the
unknown' is the subject of study of the science of religion. The
synthesis of both these sciences is the high function of philosophy
as understood in India. It is this function which Vedanta has
performed in this country (India), ever since the time of the
Upanishads. Exercising a pervasive and effective influence on our
national thought and culture, Vedanta has spared us not only the
fruitless opposition of reason to faith and vice versa, but also the
more dangerous manifestation of this opposition in the form of
intolerance, persecution, and suppression of opinion.
The need for a Vedantic approach to science and religion is insistent
today when both have shed their respective prejudices and come closer
to each other, imbued with the passion to serve man and save his
civilisation. It is only such a synthesis of philosophy which blends
in itself the flavour of the faith of religion and the reason of
science that can reconstruct modern man, by restoring to him the
integrity of his being and the unity
The 'Within' and the 'Without' of Nature
Explaining this Indian approach to religion and the cause of the
misunderstanding between science and religion, Swami Vivekananda said:
"Religion deals with the truths of the metaphysical world, just as
chemistry and the other natural sciences deal with the truth of the
physical world. The book one must read to learn chemistry is the book
of (external) nature. The book from which to learn religion is your
own mind and heart. The sage is often ignorant of physical science,
because he reads the wrong book - the book within and the scientist
is too often is ignorant of religion, because he, too, reads the
wrong book - the book without".
The practice of religion is a ceaseless quest after the facts of a
man's inner life, at the innermost depth of which it finds the truth
of God, which it defines as infinite existence, infinite knowledge,
and infinite bliss, the Sat-Chit-Ananda Brahman it comes across, at
the intermediate depths, and all higher values which find expression
in man's ethical, moral, and aesthetic experiences. A dispassionate
study of these facts constitutes the science of religion, the science
of art of the spiritual life.
It is the eternal glory of Vedanta that the great thinkers of the
Upanishads grappled with these questions: What is this universe? What
is man? What is his destiny? Long ago they discovered that the
universe of experience consists of two broad categories, the
subjective and the objective. It is important to remember that this
idea is basic to an understanding of Vedanta and to an understanding
of whither science is going today. Now, when we apply this
classification to the whole universe, we get the corollary that
modern science is the study of only one of the two categories,
namely, the objective field. But modern science is also trying to
understand the subjective field.
Psychology is one such science. But Western psychology has suffered
from too great a dominance by psychology . By resorting to time and
space methodology, we get a knowledge of the 'without' of things, but
not of their 'within'. Much of psychology in the West is
behaviouristic psychology: it is a study of the human mind through
the study of human behaviour.
But Western psychologists have also tried to break from this kind of
limitation and have developed, through psycho-analysis, the beginning
of what is called depth psychology. This is just the beginning of a
great movement in modern psychology which, if continued steadily and
penetratingly, will bring it to the truth of the real nature of man
which Vedanta reached ages ago in India - the eternal, undying Self
of man, the Atman.
Vedanta and modern science are close to each other in spirit and
temper. They are close to each other in their objectives and in very
many of their conclusions as well. Even in the cosmology of the
physical universe, we find so many points of contact. The fundamental
position in the cosmology of both science and Vedanta is what Swami
Vivekananda calls the postulate of a self-evolving cause. Vedanta
says that there is one self-evolving cause, Brahman, behind the
universe. Science says that behind this universe there is one self-
evolving cause, the background material, in the words of astronomer
Fred Hoyle.
Both believe in the theory of a cosmic evolution. There are a number
of such similarities. The truths expounded in the Upanishads are
impersonal, Apauruseya, not deriving sanction from any person.
Scientific truths are similarly impersonal, objective, not deriving
sanction from any person. Because they are impersonal, they are
universal, and provide a clear insight into the nature of the world.
That is science.
When we study the development of science during the last hundred
years, we can trace the higher reaches of science slowly appearing on
the horizon, and trace also the slow emergence of a non-materialistic
outlook in science.
Modern Physics and Philosophical Reason
In countless ways, every department of physical science today is
extending the bounds of man’s knowledge of fundamental unity behind
the manifold diversities of the universe. Physical science started
with the exploration of the mysteries of external nature; but at the
farthest end of this search, it finds itself face to face with the
mystery of man, of his mind and consciousness, the deepest mystery of
all.
The philosophies of the East, particularly the Vedanta of India,
including Buddhist thought, directly faced this mystery of man, more
than two thousand years ago, by initiating the exploration of the
internal world and carrying it through to its depths. And, today, we
witness a steady convergence of these two indirect and direct
approaches in the steady emergence of a common philosophy of the one
behind the many.
Physicists of the first quarter of the twentieth century, faced with
the challenge of the revolutionary discoveries of relativity and
quantum physics, turned into bold philosophical thinkers, initiating
the development of reason of physics into Buddhi or philosophical
Reason, by transforming it into a critique , not only of the observed
sense-data of the physical world, but also of man the observer.
Starting with Eddington, Jeans, Max Planck, Einstein, Shrodinger,
Niels Bohr, Heisenberg, and other great creators of twentieth-century
physics, this philosophical trend has grown through the last five
decades, culminating in The Tao of Physics of Berkeley University
Physics Professor, Dr.Fritjof Capra.
Concluding his Space, Time and Gravitation, Eddington hinted at the
emergence of the mystery of man from the study of the mystery of
physical nature:
"The theory of relativity has passed in review the whole subject-
matter of physics. It has unified the great laws which, by the
precision of their formulation and the exactness of their
application, have won the proud place in human knowledge which
physical science holds today. And yet, in regard to the nature of
things, this knowledge is only an empty shell- a form of symbols. It
is knowledge of structural form, and not knowledge of content. All
through the physical world runs that unknown content, which must
surely be the stuff of our consciousness.
Here is a hint of aspects deep within the world of physics, and yet
unattainable by the methods of physics. And, moreover, we have found
that, where science has progressed the farthest, the mind has but
regained from nature that which the mind has put into nature. We have
found a strange footprint on the shores of the unknown. We have
devised profound theories, one after another, to account for its
origin. At last, we have succeeded in reconstructing the creature
that made the footprint. And lo! It is our own."
Hints such as these, given by the earlier philosopher-scientists,
have developed into positive affirmations in Dr.Capra. The very title
of his book: ‘The Tao of Physics’, is significant in this connection,
apart from the masterly and fascinating exposition he gives, in the
course of the book, of his main thesis that:
"the basic elements of the Eastern world-view are also those of the
world-view emerging from modern physics,"
and that:
"Eastern thought, and more generally, mystical thought, provide a
consistent and relevant philosophical background to the theories of
contemporary science."
Noting that, through the two centuries of association with the
philosophy of materialism and the contemporary reaction against the
ravages wrought by over-technology, the image of science in the eyes
of modern man has suffered much damage, Capra seeks to restore the
image of pure science as the discipline in the pursuit of truth and
human excellence, not in opposition but in tune with the spiritual
heritage of man, and more especially, of the spiritual heritage of
the East:
Capra writes:
"This book aims at improving the image of science by showing that
there is an essential harmony between the spirit of Eastern wisdom
and Western science. It attempts to suggest that modern physics goes
far beyond technology, that the way–or Tao-of physics can be a path
with a heart, a way to spiritual knowledge and self-realisation."
Echoing the voice of Vedanta and all mystical thought that the
fundamental search for reality takes man beyond the senses and the
sensory world of phenomena, Capra says:
"On this journey to the world of the infinitely small, the most
important step, from a philosophical point of view, was the first
one: the step into the world of atoms. Probing inside the atom and
investigating its structure, science transcended the limits of our
sensory imagination. From this point on, it could no longer rely with
absolute certainty on logic and common sense. Atomic physics provided
the scientists with the first glimpses of the essential nature of
things. Like the mystics, physicists were now dealing with a non-
sensory experience of reality and, like the mystics, they had to face
the paradoxical aspects of this experience. From then on, therefore,
the models and images of modern physics became akin to those of
Eastern philosophy."
Referring to the basic unity of the universe, as upheld in Eastern
mysticism and modern physics, Capra says:
"The most important characteristic of the Eastern world-view- one
could almost say the essence of it- is the awareness of the unity and
mutual interrelation of all things and events…. The Eastern
traditions constantly refer to this ultimate indivisible reality,
which manifests itself in all things, and of which all things are
parts. It is called Brahman in Hinduism, Dharmakaya in Buddhism, and
Tao in Taoism…"
"The basic oneness of the universe is not only the central
characteristic of the mystical experience, but is also one of the
most important revelations of modern physics. It becomes apparent at
the atomic level, and manifests itself more and more as one
penetrates deeper into matter, down into the realm of sub-atomic
particles. The unity of all things and events will be a recurring
theme throughout our comparison of modern physics and the Eastern
philosophy."
Both speak of reality as transcending space, time, and causality.
Referring to this kinship, Dr.Capra says:
"The space-time of relativistic physics is a similar timeless space
of a higher dimension. All events in it are interconnected, but the
connections are not causal. Particle interactions can be interpreted
in terms of cause and effect only when the space-time diagrams are
read in a definite direction, e.g., from the bottom to the top. When
they are taken as four dimensional patterns without any definite
direction of time attached to them, there is no ‘before’ and no
‘after’, and thus no causation".
"Similarly, the Eastern mystics assert that, in transcending time,
they also transcend the world of cause and effect. Like our ordinary
notions of space and time, causation is an idea which is limited to a
certain experience of the world and has to be abandoned when this
experience is extended. In the words of Swami Vivekananda (Jnana Yoga):
‘Time, space, and causation are like the glass through which the
Absolute is seen. … In the Absolute there is neither time, space, nor
causation.’ –Swami Vivekananda
Capra continues:
"The Eastern spiritual traditions show their followers various ways
of going beyond the ordinary experience of time and of freeing
themselves from the chain of cause and effect- from the bondage of
Karma, as the Hindus and Buddhists say. It has therefore been said
that Eastern mysticism is a liberation from time. The same may be
said of relativistic physics."
Again Capra says:
"Subsequent to the emergence of the field concept, physicists have
attempted to unify the various fields into a single fundamental field
which would incorporate all physical phenomena. Einstein, in
particular, spent the last years of his life searching for such a
unified field. The Brahman of the Hindus, like the Dharmakaya of the
Buddhists, and the Tao of the Taoists, can be seen, perhaps, as the
ultimate unified field, from which spring not only the phenomena
studied in physics, but all other phenomena as well"
"In the Eastern view, the reality underlying all phenomena is beyond
all forms and defies all description and specification. It is,
therefore, often said to be formless, empty, or void. But this
emptiness is not to be taken for mere nothingness. It is, on the
contrary, the essence of all forms and the source of all life. Thus
the Upanishads say (Chandogya Upanishad, 4-10-4):
‘Brahman is life, Brahman is joy.
Brahman is the void. …
Joy ,verily, that is the same as the void.
The void, verily, that is the same as joy’".
Atomic physics is confronted with the problem of consciousness
through the datum of the ‘observer’ or to use the new, and more
meaningful term coined by physicist John Wheeler, ‘participator.’
Accordingly, Dr.Capra says:
"In modern physics, the question of consciousness has arisen in
connection with the observation of atomic phenomena. Quantum theory
has made it clear that these phenomena can only be understood as
links in a chain of processes, the end of which lies in the
consciousness of the human observer. In the words of Eugene Wigner
(Symmetries and Reflections- Scientific Essays):
‘It was not possible to formulate the laws (of quantum theory) in a
fully consistent way without reference to consciousness.’ – Eugene
Wigner
Dr.Capra continues:
"The pragmatic formulation of quantum theory used by the scientists
in their work does not refer to their consciousness explicitly.
Wigner and other physicists have argued, however, that the explicit
inclusion of human consciousness may be an essential aspect of future
theories of matter."
"Such a development would open exciting possibilities for a direct
interaction between physics and Eastern mysticism. The understanding
of one’s consciousness and its relation to the rest of the universe
is the starting point of all mystical experience. … If physicists
really want to include the nature of human consciousness in their
realm of research, a study of Eastern ideas may well provide them
with stimulating new viewpoints."
Referring to spiritual kinship between modern science and ancient
Vedanta, Swami Vivekananda said in his speech at the Parliament of
Religions held at Chicago in 1893:
"Manifestation, and not creation, is the word of science today, and
the Hindu is only glad that what he has been cherishing in his bosom
for ages is going to be taught in more forcible language, and with
further light, from the latest conclusions of science."
Confirming this view of Swami Vivekananda, that the physicist and the
mystic reach the truth of unity, though following different
approaches, Dr.Capra says:
"In contrast to the mystic, the physicist begins his inquiry into the
essential nature of things by studying the material world.
Penetrating into ever deeper realms of matter, he has become aware of
the essential unity of all things and events. More than that, he has
also learnt that he himself and his consciousness are an integral
part of this unity. Thus the mystic and the physicist arrive at the
same conclusion; one starting from the inner realm, the other from
the outer world. The harmony between their views confirms the ancient
Indian wisdom that Brahman, the ultimate reality, is identical to
Atman, the reality within."
Conclusion
Understood in this light, there is no conflict between science and
religion, between the physical sciences and the science of
spirituality. Both have the identical aim of discovering truth and
helping man to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually, and
achieve fulfilment. But each by itself is insufficient and helpless.
They have been tried separately with unsatisfactory results. The
older civilisations took guidance mostly from religion; their
achievements were partial and limited. Modern civilisation relies
solely on science; its achievements also have turned out to be
partial and limited.
The combination today, of the spiritual energies of these two
complementary disciplines in the life of man will produce fully
integrated human beings, and thus help to evolve a complete human
civilisation, for which the world is ripe and waiting. This is the
most outstanding contribution of Swami Vivekananda to human thought
today. This synthetic vision of his finds lucid expression in a brief
but comprehensive testament of his Vedantic conviction:
" Each soul is potentially divine.
The goal of life is to manifest this divinity within by controlling
nature, external (through physical sciences, technology, and socio-
political processes) and internal (through ethical, aesthetic, and
religious processes):
Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy-
by one, or more, or all of these-and be free.
This is the whole of religion. Doctrines or dogmas or rituals or
books or temples or forms, are but secondary details." -Swami
Vivekananda
This science and technique for realising the true glory of man,
followed with scientific thoroughness and detachment by the sages of
the Upanishads, and revalidated by a succession of spiritual
experimenters down the ages from Buddha to Ramakrishna, is glowingly
revealed in one of the immortal verses of the Svetasvatara Upanishad:
"Hear, ye children of immortal bliss, even ye that reside in higher
spheres! I have found the Ancient One, who is beyond all darkness,
all delusion; knowing Him alone, you shall be saved from death over
again."
====================================
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